Capturing the Sun

Solarpunk and the Elite Capture of Imagination

Abstract

The climate emergencies of the last few years are making increasingly clear that unless the destructive and exploitative structures that support modern standards of living are dismantled and transformed, the future shall be a very hot and desolate one. Science fiction has offered a venue to reflect and envision possible futures in ways that engage our imagination and stimulate technological innovation. We argue that imagination can be understood as a collective capability that supports forms of resistance and resilience. This framing enables us to examine the consequence of the existence of power asymmetries, which may distort the potential of imagination to be a source of transformative change. To make our case, we reflect on solarpunk as a contemporary art and activism movement that envisions hopeful futures of ecological living. We argue that, as a subversive imaginary, solarpunk may be affected by processes of elite capture that could stifle its radical potential, particularly in relation to its visual identity. By reflecting on two emblematic cases, we illustrate how imagination can be captured in ways that damage its political potential. Our contribution shows that even well-intentioned or apparently innocuous uses of forms of imagination and imaginaries can have reactionary political consequences that normalize and neutralize narratives in support of radical change. Analyzing the risk of capture of sustainable future imaginaries such as solarpunk is relevant for the study of the multiple narratives, visual, literary, and academic, that are at play in public debates on the sustainability transition and climate change mitigation and adaptation, and their political consequences.